Have you stopped to consider where you are in your story?

To understand where you are in your story as an artist, it's critical to know what a story is and the key elements for what makes a great story.

A story is a character who wants something and overcomes tremendous obstacles to get it.

As a writer and lover of the craft, not only do I...

Almost Flying
By Drew Tilton

“I began a love affair with words before I left the crib!” Linda, only half-joking, recalled. “As a baby my mom put books in with me. I loved to flip through them even then.” And it wasn’t long before her love of flipping through books evolved into a passion for reading and writing.

Linda...

Around the Table of Creativity
By Drew Tilton

Mouth-watering aromas fill the air as Mandy navigates her kitchen with freedom and lightness. The culinary creativity exhibited is accompanied by an intentional comfort usually reserved for the deep understanding and connectedness of close friends. She flows between masterful skill and authentic joy...

Releasing Your God-Given Dream
By Drew Tilton

“They just fit me like a glove,” the now experienced filmmaker recalled of his early exposure to acting and directing. “My first show was an Easter play depicting the last week of Jesus’ life before going to the cross. Not only was I acting in the play, but they also asked me...

Painting His Splendor
By Drew Tilton

“I remember walking into an art gallery in Laguna and staring at the William Wendt and Edgar Payne paintings. I was in total awe. As a ‘want-to-be artist,’ I longed to be able to paint like that,” Toni Danchik recalled.

Though years ago, Toni still finds that the admiration of...

One of the most important maxims for any writer is to "Show, Not Tell."

To offer you a visual story of what artists are experiencing and creating in The Grove's Cultivated Artist Experience, we are beginning a new series of video and written stories of the artists in our Grove community.

We want to show you real people — living, practical...

How do you bring your boldest self to your greatest creative challenges?

This is the question The Grove recently explored on the opening evening of our Cultivated Artist Experience four-day getaway. Bob Murphy and I challenged all of the artists in our Journey 2 & 3 groups to bring their boldest self to their creative challenges. We then...

If there is one thing our 12 acre organic lemon and avocado grove has taught us about farming during seasons of drought and freezing cold, creating sustainability is a challenging task.

Farming, like art making, is not for the faint of heart. Last year during a summer heat wave, the temperature reached a scorching 117 degrees Fahrenheit in...

As an artist, what does success look like to you?

I've never met an artist who doesn't want to be successful, but you and I know that success can be defined in many ways. Here's a few way artists define success...

Success is...

• Pushing my creative limits by always learning and practicing my art.
• Achieving creative flow as I work.
• Hitting the...

As an artist, I have two really important questions for you . . .

Who cares for your heart? And who cares for your art?

Really? Who helps cultivate, nurture, and tend your most important assets?

In reading one of my favorite spiritual authors this morning, Dallas Willard writes in Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice . . .

The...